By KACE KIESCHNICK, Tiger Rag Staff Reporter
No. 10 LSU (2-1, 0-1 Southeastern Conference) is preparing to host No. 23 Texas A&M (2-1, 0-1) in Tiger Stadium on Saturday with kickoff set for 6:30 p.m. It will be the first time since 1974 and 1975 that the teams meet in Baton Rouge in back-to-back seasons.
“These are the scheduling quirks that come with our awesome move to nine games that has sure looked so great here lately,” LSU coach Lane Kiffin said sarcastically during the SEC coaches teleconference on Wednesday.
The Aggies beat the Tigers 49-25 behind a 35-7 second-half performance that resulted in the firing of LSU coach Brian Kelly last year. A&M quarterback Marcel Reed was as big a reason as any for the win, as he was when the teams met in a 38-23 LSU loss in 2024. In the two games, Reed was 14-of-23 for 272 passing yards, ran for 170 yards and totaled seven touchdowns.
Blake Baker’s LSU defense has infamously struggled to contain mobile quarterbacks, none more so than Reed.
“I think he’s a really dynamic player, and they’re really hard to prepare for, guys like this,” Kiffin said.
Kiffin said that is why he recruited Reed while he was at Ole Miss and made the decision to target mobile quarterbacks for his own offense. He said that quarterbacks that can hurt teams with their legs – like Sam Leavitt, Trinidad Chambliss and Jaxson Dart – present issues for defenses on third downs in college football.
Equally notorious for its third-down success is Texas A&M coach Mike Elko’s defense. The Aggies allowed the fewest third-down conversions (38/166) and the worst conversion rate (22.89%) in the nation last season. Through the first three games of 2026, Texas A&M is No. 7 in opponent third down conversion rate (22.58%, 7/31).
Three of the seven successful third down conversions were given up to Kentucky in the Aggies’ 31-21 loss last week. Elko described the performance as one of the worst defensive outings his team has had in his time at A&M as the Wildcats totaled 408 yards of offense and punted in just three of their nine offensive possessions that did not end the half or game.
“He’s a defensive mastermind and gives people a lot of problems, and they had one bad half last week,” Kiffin said. “That doesn’t define who the team is, and it’s going to be a big challenge for us, one that we’re excited about.”
The biggest challenge for the LSU offense so far this season has been protecting Leavitt. The Arizona State transfer has been pressured on 34.2% of his drop backs and sacked 10 times through three games, according to Pro Football Focus. Kiffin said Leavitt himself admitted that he needed to play better in LSU’s loss to Ole Miss, but the blame cannot be placed entirely on the quarterback.
“Those games happen, and a lot of factors go into that,” Kiffin said, “We didn’t protect really well around him, and crowd noise and music being played all the way through the snap when the center’s hand is on the ball again and again, those will help you struggle at quarterback and false start. There’s a lot of things to improve on around him, and he’ll do better and play better this week.”
Kiffin said that the team is eager to go out and execute after being disappointed by the missed opportunities that resulted in the loss last week. Kiffin said that after battling back from a 17-point halftime deficit both sides of the offense had chances to win the game but neither came through.
Elko, though, was still complimentary of the Tigers’ performance despite the loss.
“They showed a lot of fight. They’re extremely talented on both sides of the football,” he said during the teleconference.
Now both 2-1 to start the season with eight more SEC games on the schedule, Saturday’s matchup could be a must win for both sidelines, but Kiffin said the stakes of the game do not add any notable pressure.
“That doesn’t matter,” he said. “That’s got nothing to do with preparation and performing well and all the things that we talk about all the time: the process within the days and the week versus the outcome.”
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